The frames of all my bikes were designed 20+ years ago, so qualify as “retro.” Several of them are based on the early mountain bike, so here is a brief introduction to that design,followed by four of my “variations on a theme. (Scroll down to see my folding, touring and road bikes.) Re-Fitting 1980’s Mountain… Continue reading In Praise of My Own “Retro” Bikes
Category: Cycling
My Adventures on a Bike Friday
The inspiration to begin biking in Latin America and later Europe came from the arrival of my 50th birthday in 1997. A few years before, I had written a story for Oregon Cycling paper about ATP (Advanced Training Products) in Eugene, Oregon–the original frame-building shop set up by the Scholz brothers, making tandem frame sets… Continue reading My Adventures on a Bike Friday
2014: Cycling Historic Waterways from Quebec City to Buffalo
(Cycle-Touring the St. Lawrence, Lake Champlain and Erie Canal) If you are a regular reader of Bicycle Paper, you may recall I’ve written about my discovery of the lost art of canal biking in my home city of London, and followed it up by riding across southwest France on the canal from the Mediterranean to… Continue reading 2014: Cycling Historic Waterways from Quebec City to Buffalo
2014: Escape to the Olympic Discovery Trail
Have you ridden the Olympic Discovery Trail? I hadn’t even heard of it until I reached Washington’s North Olympic coast on a “last-minute” bike tour this past September. In fact, it took a string of coincidences to put me on the road around Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula and back to my home in Astoria, Ore.… Continue reading 2014: Escape to the Olympic Discovery Trail
Chasing the Tillamook Steam Train — by Bike!
Some of my most memorable cycling moments have been entirely unexpected … like the time I found myself participating in that classic western scene — the train robbery! It was last summer and I was staying at Rockaway Beach on the north Oregon coast, visiting some friends. I was about to hop on the bike… Continue reading Chasing the Tillamook Steam Train — by Bike!
PM: My World on Wheels
My World on Wheels: By coincidence, 1962 was the year I discovered both bikes and boats and I have bounced between both sports/passions ever since. I have to admit it is a lot easier to practice cycling every day–for the last 14 years I have made a daily 5-mile commute along the Riverwalk in Astoria.… Continue reading PM: My World on Wheels
Mule Packer-the D.I.Y. Bike that Really Packs!
The Mule Packer bike is definitely the simplest method of building your own low-cost demountable travel bike using only common hand tools. It consists of a pair of demi-frames cut from two 1980’s mountain bikes, one larger than the other by 2-3″ that sleeve together with no added joints, hinges or other mechanisms. This is… Continue reading Mule Packer-the D.I.Y. Bike that Really Packs!
Biking Chiloe Island – Off the Beaten Path
If you can find Chile on the map, then you must be aware of its outstanding physical feature. It is, of course, by a large margin, the longest, narrowest country in the world. So narrow, in fact, that it’s only a century ride from the coast to the foothills of the Andes–even a modestly fit… Continue reading Biking Chiloe Island – Off the Beaten Path
Chile – Top to Bottom
The Atacama Desert to Puerto Montt Chile, that amazingly long South American country, extends in a narrow band 2,700 miles down the Pacific coast of the continent, from 18 to 54 degrees of latitude. Its northern border is the Atacama Desert, the driest place in the world, its southern is Cape Horn, one of the… Continue reading Chile – Top to Bottom
1997: Cycling from the Snake River to the Willamette
The cycling business has profited immensely from encouraging us cyclists to think in terms of grams when it comes to bike parts. (Exactly how big is a gram anyway? Could you feel one if I dropped it in your hand?) However, a recent article in a bicycle trade paper suggests that shops should begin promoting… Continue reading 1997: Cycling from the Snake River to the Willamette